Gay man denied marriage license by Kim Davis challenging her for county clerk: I want to bring 'people back together'

Two years after Rowan County, Kentucky, clerk Kim Davis denied a marriage license to David Ermold and his partner of more than 15 years, Ermold and Davis are crossing paths once again: He is challenging Davis for her seat.

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Ermold filed on Wednesday to run for Rowan County clerk, with his husband, David Moore, by his side. Ermold is a professor at the University of Pikeville and formerly a professor at the Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College, where he was named faculty member of the year.

"The message I want to send out is one of bringing people back together," Ermold told ABC News Wednesday. "People are just hurt, people are angry, and we don’t have to follow this path ... We can change."

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, with Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, left, at her side, greets the crowd after being released from the Carter County Detention Center, Sept. 8, 2015, in Grayson, Ky.

In 2015, soon after the Supreme Court upheld the right of same-sex couples nationwide to marry, Ermold went to the county clerk's office with a copy of the ruling in his hand. He was met by a defiant Davis, the chief clerk, who refused to issue a license to him and Moore.

She sparked a national outcry after refusing to issue marriage licenses to many same-sex couples. She was later jailed for nearly a week for violating an order by a federal judge to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Timothy D. Easley/AP

David Moore, center, and his partner David Ermold attempt to apply for a marriage license at the Rowan County Courthouse in Morehead, Ky., Sept. 1, 2015.

Adam Beam/AP

David Ermold speaks with Clerk Kim Davis as he files to run for Rowan County Clerk Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017, in Morehead, Ky.

On his third visit to the county clerk's office, Ermold and his partner were finally granted a marriage license from the Rowan County courthouse on September 4, 2015. Kim Davis was in jail at the time. They were married in a public ceremony on October 31.

Timothy D. Easley/AP, FILE

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis listens to a customer at the Rowan County Courthouse in Morehead, Ky., Sept. 1, 2015.

Thinking back to the day when Davis defied the Supreme Court's ruling for him and Moore, Ermold said, "We're looking at an office that touches the lives of everyone in the community."

"We need to reconsider the leadership of our county. We need to reconsider the leadership of our state and maybe our country. Our leaders are dividing us," he said.

A gathering of same sex marriage supporters, left, and supporters of Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, right, face off in front of the Rowan County Courthouse, Sept. 1, 2015, in Morehead, Ky.

Timothy D. Easley/AP Photo

Surrounded by Rowan County Sheriff's deputies, Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, center, with her son Nathan Davis standing by her side, makes a statement to the media at the front door of the Rowan County Judicial Center in Morehead, Ky.

For now, Ermold's focus is on challenging Davis, who he says would rather "saunter off into other countries" than focus on the issues facing Rowan County.

ABC News attempted to reach out to Davis for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Mat Staver, a Liberty Counsel attorney who represents Davis, told ABC News that Ermold has a "personal vendetta" in running and has no experience fit for the job. Staver said Davis also intends on running for re-election and that she "loves her job," which he stressed is more than just issuing marriage licenses.

Ermold, who has lived in the county for 14 years, is ready to challenge those who might say Kentucky isn't ready for a candidate like him.

Responding to critics, Ermold said, "They aren't looking at a larger picture here. They aren't looking at the consequences of what happened in 2015."

"This is the campaign that [voters] need to follow, because it's the one that really is what they've been looking for, for a long time," he said. "Let the people decide."

Ermold is optimistic about his "win-win" campaign, which he hopes will inspire others in the LGBTQ community.

"We're just going to run this campaign," he said. "We're just going to do it because we can and because people came together and they are coming together."

CComments

c.g.

2017-12-08T22:53:30

Don't you just love these so called religious HYPOCRITES??.....so many who claim to be so "religious" and so godly....just ignore what they want to ignore...ha,ha.

I get a kick out of the newest wife of Newt Gingrich: Callista who is now the Ambassador to the Vatican. She is "suppose" to be the good Catholic girl who was scrwing her brains out with ole Newt when he was still married to his 3rd wife....who was a bit "busy" fighting cancer.

After Newt divorced his 3rd wife....he served her divorce papers while she was in the hospital....isn't he a jewel?

Then he and Callista married.....but the "good" Catholic girl and Newt had to spend a lot of $ and use their influence so that the 3 previous marriages of Newt could all "go away" with the Catholic way of annulment.So then Callista was free to marry Newt who even though he divorced all of his other 3 wives....could technically be free to marry her since the Catholic Church just kind of looked the other way...Yep...always "loop holes" with religion.......one reason why I am NOT a practicing Catholic.....

I made a simple comment earlier that I was no fan of Kim Davis, however, I'd like for my elected officials to run on a more solid platform than simply, "I don't like how that person treated me, so I'm going to run against her."

And then, my comment was removed by a moderator. Really? Are we really policing any opinion we simply disagree with to THAT extent? Quite a sensitive group here that is attracted to this story it seems.

Davis is in a public job, supported by taxpayer dollars. She cannot serve two masters in her capacity as a public servant. Yet she does, and she still has her job. No one I know personally can refuse to do part of their jobs and still keep their jobs, including myself. I hope David Ermold is victorious.

Hope he wins! I would love to see the reaction from the anti-gay crowd if he then turned around and refused to process marriages for Christians, because it's against his belief system (not that he should do so...but oh the hypocrisy!).

I have a rule on my ranch. If you refuse to do your job you will have to find a new one. It seems strange to me that someone can refuse to do their job to the point of literally going to jail for it while still keeping the job.

I do not understand how this lady could be able to keep her job after being put in jail for failing to following proceduresI do not understand how this lady could be able run for re-election after being put in jail for failing to following procedures

Are there no qualifications for this job... like not having a criminal history of disobeying the law?

And hopefully,this will end the horror of one of the most bigoted and discriminatory people in the nation and now will now she will be able to sit at home and understand that her brand of hate is no longer tolerated.

Hope this is the end of the horror of Kim Davis.

And for Huckabee supporting Kim Davis......Sarahs reputation is just as rotten,perhaps worse for being a serial liar as well as supporting bigotry and discrimination....cant wait for her 15 minutes to be over.